UNCW men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts finished his staff Thursday with the hiring of former East Tennessee State assistant Thomas Carr.

Thomas Carr is the final addition to UNCW’s coaching staff. (Courtesy East Tennessee State Athletics)

Carr played for Keatts at Hargrave Military Academy in 2003-2004 and then assisted him in 2010-2011 during his final season at the Virginia prep school. The Toledo native also assisted at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College and served as a high school head coach in Virginia before he was hired at East Tennessee State last June.

“Working with Coach Keatts is something I’ve wanted to do since college,” Carr said in a release. “I believe in him and everything he’s about, both on and off the floor. As good of a situation as I had at ETSU with Coach (Murry) Bartow and the players, I knew in my heart if Coach Keatts called me, there was no way I would be able to turn him down.”

Carr, 28, joins Casey Stanley and Takayo Siddle as assistants on UNCW’s new staff. Keatts opted to keep Kevin Easley in the director of basketball operations role he served under former coach Buzz Peterson.

In assembling a staff, Keatts went with three young assistants who he has worked side-by-side with in the past. Siddle also played for and coached with him at Hargrave, and Stanley was on the video staff at Louisville when the first-year coach was an assistant there. Both are 27 years old.

Keatts, in a release, said Carr “did a super job” in his stint as a Hargrave assistant. The Tigers went 26-1 during the 2010-2011 season. The team featured UNCW guard Craig Ponder and a host of high-major talent, including former UNC guard P.J. Hairston.

“(Carr is) energetic and brings a strong work ethic and knowledge of the game to our program,” Keatts added.

Carr’s George Washington High School team averaged 88 points per game in 2012-2013 en route to a 25-3 record. He worked under Murry Bartow at East Tennessee State. The Buccaneers went 19-16 this past year and finished the season in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.